Nathalie Weinstein//August 27, 2010//
ReVolt Technology, a developer of rechargeable electric vehicle batteries, has selected a site in Portland for its new headquarters, according to company spokesman Tom Resau.
ReVolt plans to have its battery development operation under way at 12021 N.E. Airport Way, suite G, by October. It expects to hire 150 employees over the next five years.
“ReVolt is a very international-oriented business,” Resau said. “The proximity of the space to Portland International Airport was definitely an attraction.”
The technology company has received a total of $6.8 million in loans and tax credits from the Portland Development Commission and via the Oregon Department of Energy’s Small Scale Energy Loan Program and the Business Energy Tax Credit program. The U.S. Department of Energy in April awarded a $5 million research grant to ReVolt so the company could expand in Oregon.
The company’s Zinc-air flow battery, currently in the research-and-development phase, will use zinc suspended in liquid that is then transported through reaction tubes to discharge and recharge the battery. ReVolt expects its battery to last three times longer on a single charge than lead-acid or lithium-ion vehicle batteries. ReVolt CEO James McDougall hopes to have a market-ready battery in five to 10 years.
ReVolt first announced in September 2009 that it had selected Portland as the location for its U.S. headquarters and manufacturing center. The Airport Way Urban Renewal Area was formed by the PDC in 1986 with the mission of creating 20,000 jobs in the area by this year. At 2,726 acres, it is the city’s second largest urban renewal district.